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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27603547">I Love You Too, Kiddo</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/rox_fanfics/pseuds/rox_fanfics'>rox_fanfics</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>James Barnes Has a Life [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Artist Steve Rogers, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Bucky Barnes Feels, Career Day, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Good Peter, Good Peter Hale, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, I Tried, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Midtown Tech, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Non-Serum Steve Rogers/Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes | Shrinkyclinks, Not Beta Read, Not Canon Compliant, POV Steve Rogers, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Steve, Protective Steve Rogers, Read by the Author, Romantic Fluff, Steve Feels, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, career day at peter's schook, this is mainly about steve</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:34:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,606</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27603547</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/rox_fanfics/pseuds/rox_fanfics</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“Well, we have this thing coming up at school, and we’re supposed to have our parents come to talk about their jobs and stuff. Mr Stark isn’t here so I was wondering-”</p><p>“Yes, I’ll come to talk to your school about my work, Peter,” Steve chuckled, toeing off his boots and sitting on the couch. </p><p>“Really, Steve? Thank you so much!” Peter sounded excited through the phone, his voice much more vibrant than before. </p><p>“When is it?”</p><p>~</p><p>The long-awaited career day instalment of this series, I hope you all enjoy :)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes &amp; Peter Parker, James "Bucky" Barnes &amp; Peter Parker &amp; Steve Rogers, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Peter Parker &amp; Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers &amp; Sam Wilson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>James Barnes Has a Life [8]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770085</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>362</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I Love You Too, Kiddo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>THIS TOOK SO LONG BUT IT IS OVERWHELMINGLY THE MOST REQUESTED FIC IN THIS SERIES SO HERE YOU GO</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Steve had been home alone for the past two weeks, which wasn’t unusual. </p><p>Bucky had a mission with the other Avengers in Russia for the next week or two, but he had assured Steve that it was safe. </p><p>What Steve didn’t expect was to get a call from Peter while he was feeding the chickens on the fourth day of Bucky’s absence. </p><p>“Hey Peter,” he greeted, holding the phone with his shoulder and turning off the hose that was filling up the chicken’s water. </p><p>“Hi Steve,” Peter said, sounding a little nervous.</p><p>“Are you alright?” Steve asked right away, knowing that Tony and the other Avengers wouldn’t be able to help Peter if they were off on a mission. </p><p>“Yeah, I’m fine,” Peter assured him, still sounding a little on edge, “I just wanted to ask you about something- You know what, never mind, it’s ok-”</p><p>“What is it, Peter?” Steve asked, a small smile on his face. </p><p>“Well, we have this thing coming up at school, and we’re supposed to have our parents come to talk about their jobs and stuff. Mr Stark isn’t here so I was wondering-”</p><p>“Yes, I’ll come to talk to your school about my work, Peter,” Steve chuckled, toeing off his boots and sitting on the couch. </p><p>“Really, Steve? Thank you so much!” Peter sounded excited through the phone, his voice much more vibrant than before. </p><p>“When is it?”</p><p>“It’s next Wednesday, if that’s alright,” </p><p>“That’s perfectly fine, Peter, I’m not doing much for the next few weeks. What should I have prepared for this?” Steve asked, feeling a little excited at the chance to help Peter with something like this. </p><p>“Well, they said that they want parents- um, guardians- to talk about how they got to where they are, and give some examples of what their daily routine is like. I know that you don’t have a super busy routine, but maybe you could talk about what Art school was like? If you want to, that is,” Peter stuttered out, making Steve smile. </p><p>“Peter, I will be at Avengers tower on Tuesday night with my supplies. I love you, Peter, and I’ll see you soon,” Steve smiled. </p><p>“Ok, Steve, I’ll see you soon. Love you!” Peter said, hanging up and leaving Steve with a light feeling in his chest. </p><p>Leaving his phone on the table, Steve started fixing himself a cup of tea, slowly mixing in his milk and sugar to his taste. He didn’t know when his life had changed so much, and when he had opened up his heart to so many people, but he wouldn’t change it for the world. </p><p>After HYDRA, Steve didn’t want to trust people. Bucky had been trying to help, protecting Steve and always being open to talk, but Steve hadn’t opened up to many people. </p><p>Sam had been pretty much the only person who Steve had talked to outside of Bucky, and even that was hard to maintain. </p><p>Steve and Sam had met at college, even though Sam wasn’t an art major. They had gotten along, and Sam had been there to comfort Steve when the attack on New York had happened. Steve had been a mess as they watched the news coverage, but Sam had made sure that Steve’s animals were taken care of because Steve couldn’t do it himself while also making sure that Steve didn’t melt into a puddle of despair. </p><p>“I’m here for you,” Sam had promised as Steve’s eyes had been glued to the screen, “If you ever need anything, I’m here,”</p><p>Steve had never been a social person, but after being kidnapped and having to look over his shoulder for so long, Steve had been even worse in social situations. He would usually avoid large crowds, especially when he didn’t know the people there, but Sam had helped hi more and more over the years, always taking it at Steve’s pace. The idea of talking in front of Peter’s class was daunting, but he wanted to be there, no matter what. </p><p>Smiling a little, Steve picked up his phone again, dialling Sam’s number. </p><p>“Hey, man!” Sam answered cheerfully. </p><p>“Hey, Sam. Do you think you could come over on Wednesday to check in on the horses? I’m going to Peter’s career day at school. I won’t be gone for long, three days at the most,”</p><p>“Of course! You need to introduce me to this kid at some point, he’s all you talk about now,” Sam teased, making Steve chuckle. </p><p>“I’ll make sure you guys get to meet soon. Thank you for this, and make sure to-”</p><p>“-let Anatoly out at night because he doesn’t like being alone, I know,” Sam finished Steve’s sentence, making the blonde man blush slightly. </p><p>“Thanks, Sam, you’re the best,” Steve smiled, putting the hose down and walking towards the porch, toeing off his waterproof boots as he got to the door. </p><p>Sam laughed, “No problem, I’ll take any excuse to relax on your farm for a day or two. It’s good for me to get out of the city,” he said like he was the leading expert on all things health-related. </p><p>Steve couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his friend, grinning at his antics, “Thank you, Sam. I’ll make sure to introduce you to Peter soon,”</p><p>“Hell yeah! I’m gonna be the cool uncle who buys him the best presents for Christmas,” Sam exclaimed, making Steve snort. </p><p>“Sure, Sam, sure,”</p><p>~</p><p>Steve arrived at the Avengers compound, and he felt his chest squeeze. Even though HYDRA had hurt him a lot, they had also used him to try out new medicines, so his asthma, heart disease, low blood pressure, and arthritis was gone. He knew that this was a good thing, but he wondered if it was worth all the pain he had gone through. </p><p>He had a big black case with a few of his most recent pieces, including a few of the farm and some of the lake that was a fifteen-minute horse ride from the house. </p><p>Taking a deep breath, Steve walked forward, leaving the car out front and heading towards the entrance, pressing the button of the elevator and getting in. </p><p>“Steve!” Peter yelled and ran up to him as Steve stepped off of the elevator, grinning as he hugged Peter tightly. </p><p>“Hey, Peter,” Steve said, ruffling the Spiderling’s hair and squeezing him one more time before letting go and pulling back to look at him. </p><p>Peter grinned, taking Steve’s case from him and getting him a glass of water, “So, what are you going to talk about tomorrow?”</p><p>Steve smiled, “I’m not really sure. I want to talk about how different art is to everyone, and how there’s no ‘one right way’ to do it, you know?” Steve thought out loud, sipping his water and ruffling Peter’s hair. </p><p>“That sounds fun,” Peter said, snuggling up to Steve’s side. </p><p>“What are the other parents going to talk about?” Steve asked, lazily running his fingers through Peter’s curly hair. </p><p>Peter shrugged, “Not sure, a lot of them are just businessmen or CEOs of trade companies, so a lot of the speeches will be the same. I wish Mr Stark could be here to talk- Not that I’m not grateful that you’re here,” Peter assured Steve quickly, his voice a little higher, “I am, Steve, I swear, but I just wish I could do this type of thing with Mr Stark, you know?”</p><p>Steve nodded, holding Peter closer, “I know, Pete. If I know anything about Tony, then I know that he would be here in a heartbeat if he could, Bucky too. I’ve known both of them for a long time, and I’m positive that they want nothing more than to do things like this with you,”</p><p>Peter smiled a little, nodding.</p><p>“But I want you to know, Peter,” Steve said, his voice a little more serious, “I’m always here for you. Even if Bucky and Tony are both here, you can still call me for things like this, I will always be here for you, I’m your backup dad, right?” Steve smirked, letting out a laugh as Peter groaned a little. </p><p>“You’re a dork,” Peter said, his voice muffled by Steve’s shirt. </p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” Steve chuckled, rubbing Peter’s back, “I love you too, kiddo,”</p><p>~</p><p>Career day was going to take up the entire school day, according to Peter, so they made sure to get there early enough to get settled and catch the first presentation. </p><p>“It’s just some dude talking about how company finances work,” Peter whined as Steve drove them through the dark morning. </p><p>“Yes, and that’s important to know,” Steve said, keeping his eyes on the road and making sure to use his turn signal, even when they were turning off of the deserted road that lead to the Avengers compound. </p><p>He felt the need to set a good example for his kid. </p><p>“I want to sleep,” Peter moaned, curling into a ball in the passenger seat. </p><p>Steve rolled his eyes, “You can sleep, we’ll be there in less than an hour, and we can drive through Starbucks on the way,”</p><p>“Yay,” Peter deadpanned, his voice muffled by the car seat which he was pressing his face into. </p><p>~</p><p>“Mr Steve!” An excited voice broke through the soft buzz of sleepy students as Steve carried his case into Peter’s classroom. </p><p>Turning around, he caught sight of the source of the voice, “Ned! Hi, kiddo,” he said, pulling him into a one-armed hug and giving him a small smile. </p><p>“How are you awake right now?” Peter asked, still bleary-eyed and gripping his sugary Starbucks drink like it was the only thing keeping him alive. </p><p>Steve chuckled, “I wake up at sunrise most days on the farm, Lexi and Treasure get impatient really fast if I’m not on time,” he said, walking with the two boys into the classroom. </p><p>“Who’s this, Ned?” Someone asked, and Steve looked up to see a man dressed in a smart button-up shirt and slacks, evidently Ned’s dad. </p><p>“This is Steve Rogers, he’s Peter’s…” Ned looked at them, trying to find the right word. </p><p>“Annoyance,” Peter supplied, taking a sip of his coffee and glaring at Steve. </p><p>Steve laughed, ruffling Peter’s hair, “I’m like his godfather of sorts. My partner works with his mentor and we’ve grown close. Both of them are out of town today so I’m here to help Peter,” Steve said, sticking out his hand for Mr Leeds to shake. </p><p>“Pleasure to meet you, Steve,” the man said, the picture of a polite businessman, “What do you do for a living?”</p><p>“I’m an artist,” Steve said, gesturing to his case which held his paintings. He saw the small flash of judgment in the man’s eyes, but chose to ignore it, “Peter’s mentor probably would have been the more appropriate choice, he’s an engineer, but he’s out of town, like I said,” Steve shrugged, remaining impassive and polite, a mask he had perfected. </p><p>Thankfully, they were all saved from the awkward conversation by the teacher calling out and telling them that they should find seats. Peter and Ned took Steve with them to find MJ while Ned’s dad stayed with another parent who he recognised from work. </p><p>The first speaker was, indeed, a man who talked about finance, and Steve had to softly elbow Peter repeatedly to keep him awake, making the boy stick his tongue out at him. </p><p>Surprisingly, Mr Leeds’ presentation was short and slightly enjoyable, talking about his work with charity organizations and how he budgeted the per cent of profits from his company which would go to charity organizations. </p><p>Slowly but surely, Steve’s turn was coming up, and he gave Peter a small smile, “Should I mention that I’m married to an Avenger or would that be too much?” Steve whispered, making Peter groan in embarrassment.</p><p>“If you bring up James or Mr Stark, I will hate you for a week,” he said, making Steve raise an eyebrow. </p><p>“A week?”</p><p>“That’s the longest I can go!”</p><p>“-Alright, thank you, Mr Thompson,” The teacher said, cutting off their conversation as the current presenter finished, “Now we have Peter’s guardian, Mr Rogers,”</p><p>“Steve is fine, I’m not wearing a cardigan, am I?” Steve said, receiving a small chuckle from the class as he pulled out a few paintings, “I’m not a businessman, or a CEO or anything like that, I’m an artist,” Steve started, feeling the small bundle of nerves in his stomach. </p><p>“I’ve been drawing and painting since I was little, but I couldn’t afford to go to college until I was in my mid-twenties. I’ve had a few traumatic experiences in my life, and painting helped with that, especially when I found out how great of a model my partner was,” Steve said, chuckling to himself. </p><p>He pulled out a piece he had brought. It was a painting of Lexi in the field, mid gallop, as the pasture bloomed with flowers like it did in the spring. He was proud of this particular piece, and had never sold it. It usually hung in his living room, but he thought that it would be a good idea to bring it today. </p><p>“This is one of my horses, I live a few hours out of the city where my partner and I have a small farm. One thing that I’ve found about art is that you can paint the same things, the same subjects, hundreds of times, and they’ll never be exact replicas of each other. I’ve painted Lexi more than a few dozen times over the years, and it’s always different. </p><p>“I know that all of you kids are smart, smarter than me by a long shot, and I know that you have plans for your future. What I love about art, in all forms, is that you don’t need to be an expert or a professional, you can just do it. You don’t have to be an art major, or a music major, or anything at all to enjoy painting or singing or playing an instrument,” Steve smiled, scanning the room and keeping his expression open. </p><p>“Thank you for giving me your time, and I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the day,” he finished, putting away his pieces and barely registering that he had gotten the loudest applause yet. </p><p>“That was great!” Peter whispered as Steve sat down, his face split in a huge smile, “You can always become a public speaker if being an artist doesn’t work out for you,”</p><p>Steve snorted, ruffling Peter’s hair, much to the boy’s annoyance, “You just focus on the speaker in front of you,”</p><p>~</p><p> </p><p>They all broke for lunch at eleven thirty, Steve pulling out a bag of Bucky’s cookies he had brought from the farm. </p><p>“Yes!” Peter yelled excitedly, grabbing the bag before passing a cookie each to Ned and MJ before taking one himself. </p><p>“Thank you, Mr Steve,” Ned said through a mouthful of the cookie, making Steve laugh. </p><p>“You’re welcome,” he said, taking his own cookie. Peter, Ned, and MJ all talked quietly, leaving Steve to sit in comfortable silence, watching the people around the room. </p><p>Peter and Ned were both talking about something Steve couldn’t understand, and MJ was sketching, looking like she couldn’t care less about what they were talking about, but Steve could tell that she was listening. </p><p>With a quick word to Peter, Steve told him that he needed to use the restroom, walking out of the classroom. </p><p>He knew that Peter had called him as a last resort of sorts, and it was obvious that Tony or even Bucky would have been better choices to present, but Steve was glad that he got to do this for Peter. He wasn’t a genius, or a superhero, but he was there for Peter, and that was enough. </p><p>Looking in the mirror, Steve couldn’t help but think about how lost he felt in that moment. He had never been good at public speaking, and he wanted so badly to curl up in a quiet place without any distractions, but he couldn’t. Being around people he didn’t know was exhausting. He always had his guard up, not daring to keep his eyes off of the exits in the off chance that something went wrong. </p><p>Bucky had trained Steve when they escaped HYDRA and had made sure that he would be able to look after himself, but being around big crowds and loud noises made him tense enough to snap at a moment’s notice. </p><p>“Pull yourself together, Rogers,” Steve muttered, meeting his own eyes in the mirror, “You can do this,”</p><p>~</p><p>“Do you want to head straight to the compound or do you want to stop and get a snack?” Steve asked, starting the car as Peter buckled himself in. </p><p>“Let’s just head back, I’ve got some studying to do,” he said. Steve looked over and saw that Peter’s face was having trouble keeping his exhaustion away, his slight bloodshot look in his eyes more prominent than they had been in the classroom where Steve couldn’t really concentrate on anything. </p><p>“Alright, kiddo,” he said, keeping his voice low as he drove out of the parking lot, both of them sitting in comfortable silence. Within a few minutes, Peter was out, his eyes closed and his breathing slow and deep. The sight of Peter so calm helped Steve get his heart rate down too. </p><p>As they drove back, it started raining, the droplets hitting the windshield and making the whole world quieter, letting Steve relax into his seat. </p><p>Without thinking, he started humming a tune he didn’t recognise. </p><p>When he pulled into the parking lot, Steve felt guilty for nudging Peter awake, loving how peaceful the boy looked, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to carry him, no matter what HYDRA had pumped him full of so long ago. </p><p>Peter got up, rubbing his eyes and blinking sleepily at Steve, both of them quickly getting out and running through the rain to get to the cover of the compound, Steve held his jacket over his head and laughed as Peter sprinted and slipped in a puddle. </p><p>“Now I’m soaked!” Peter said, complaining pitifully and making Steve laugh more. Peter pouted, “You’re mean,”</p><p>“Yes he is,” A voice behind Steve spoke up. </p><p>Steve turned around and saw Bucky standing there, still in his combat gear as he grinned at Steve and Peter. </p><p>“James!” Peter yelled excitedly, running up and hugging Bucky even though his clothes were soaked, but Bucky didn’t seem to mind. </p><p>“Hey, little spider,” Bucky said, ruffling Peter’s hair, to which Peter let out an indignant noise, batting at Bucky’s hand. </p><p>“Hey, doll,” Bucky said, his voice more tender now as he turned to Steve, wrapping him in his arms and pulling him closer, kissing him softly and making Steve let out a soft sigh. </p><p>“I missed you,” Steve said wrapping his arms around Bucky’s neck and keeping him close, kissing him again and letting Bucky’s warmth seep into his skin, feeling more right in that moment than he had in days. </p><p>“Let’s head inside, Stevie,” Bucky suggested, tucking an arm around Steve’s waist and gesturing for Peter to follow them. </p><p>When they got inside, Peter went to his room to do his homework, seeming to understand that Steve and Bucky needed a moment alone. </p><p>“How’re you holdin’ up, Stevie?” Bucky asked, steering them into their room and sitting down on the bed, pulling Steve onto his lap, where Steve curled up, holding onto Bucky tightly. </p><p>“It’s ok,” Steve said, his voice quieter, “There were just a lot of people,” he muttered, tucking his face into Bucky’s neck and taking a deep breath, feeling his body relax as Bucky ran a hand over his spine, warmth seeping into his skin from his touches. </p><p>“I’m sorry I wasn’t here,” Bucky said after a moment of silence, holding Steve tightly and still running his hand over his back. </p><p>Steve shook his head, “Buck, it’s alright. I love you, but sometimes I need to deal with things on my own. You can’t protect me from everything, no matter how much you want to,” Steve smiled, running a hand through Bucky’s hair and looking into his eyes, feeling his worries fade slowly into the back of his mind. </p><p>Bucky let out a soft sigh, pressing a kiss to Steve’s temple, “I love you too, Stevie. I just hate that you put yourself in a space where you’re uncomfortable. I know you want to be there for Peter, and I know that you love him, but you need to look after yourself as well, at least for me,” Bucky used his hand to tap Steve’s chin, making him look into Bucky’s eyes, “Stevie, you’re my life, my sunshine, and I hate that you keep putting yourself in spaces you don’t like. Sometimes I just want to wrap you in a warm blanket and keep you there forever,”</p><p>Steve let out a laugh, pulling Bucky down for a soft kiss, “I know what you mean. I feel the same way with you, Buck, I just wish I could tuck you away from the world, no more missions, no more SHIELD, no more Avengers, just us, our horses, our dog, and our sort of son,” Steve said, smiling as Bucky chuckled. </p><p>“I would like that,” Bucky said, a little more seriously now, keeping his eyes on Steve. </p><p>Steve sat up out of Bucky’s lap, his face more serious now, “What do you mean, Buck?”</p><p>“I think-” Bucky sighed, taking Steve’s hand, “I think it’s time for me to retire,”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>if you want to get updates about stuff or you want to ask me questions, follow my Tumblr: rox-fanfics</p><p>to suggest new instalments of this series, fill out this form: https://forms.gle/1P7w1CxBr3GJZnhy9</p><p>Thanks for reading :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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